Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LEAD, v.t.² [pron. leed; pret. and pp. led; Sax. lædan; G. leiten; D. leiden; Sw. leda; Dan. leder; probably to draw, to strain or extend.]

1. To guide by the hand; as, to lead a child. It often includes the sense of drawing as well as of directing.
2. To guide or conduct by showing the way; to direct; as the Israelites were led by a pillar of cloud by day, and by a pillar of fire by night.
3. To conduct to any place. He leadeth me beside the still waters. – Ps. xxiii.
4. To conduct, as a chief or commander, implying authority to direct and govern; as, a general leads his troops to battle and to victory. Christ took not on him flesh and blood, that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, &c. – South.
5. To precede; to introduce by going first. As Hesperus that leads the sun his way. – Fairfax.
6. To guide; to show the method of attaining an object. Self-examination may lead us to a knowledge of ourselves.
7. To draw; to entice; to allure. The love of pleasure leads men into vices which degrade and impoverish them.
8. To induce; to prevail on; to influence. He was driven by the necessities of the times more than led by his own disposition to any rigor of actions. – K. Charles.
9. To pass; to spend, that is, to draw out; as, to lead a life of gayety, or a solitary life. That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. – 1. Tim. To lead astray, lo guide in wrong way or into error; to seduce from truth or rectitude. To lead captive, to carry into captivity.